Author
Topic: Which Airplanes Are Good? (Read 2019 times)

RisteMakedonski

Which airplanes are good to get? I have a 737 and I am not sure what kind of airplane to get next. If I lease an Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia, which seats about 30 passengers, can this make me money?

Oh and I have another question. I know a guy who had one airplane and had about 5 other ones on order. I went back on the computer and saw he somehow managed to get them all. How do people get so many planes with so little starting times?

« Last Edit: January 14, 2009, 12:59:24 AM by RisteMakedonski »

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deepblue501

it really depends on which routes you want to fly and where you are based. Have a good look first at route planning, make a shortlist of the ten most desired destinations (preferably the ones with the highest potential) and adapt your fleet to your plans. Best would be if you focus on either larger planes (like boeing, mcdonnel etc) or on smaller planes (like EMB, DHC etc), this in order to limit the number of different types of planes you have. So do you want to start a commuter airline or one that flies to further away destinations. This of course again depends on your base airport and the potential # of passengers to different destinations.

in terms of choosing the right aircraft look at the following:- PAX and fuel consumption (the more PAX and the lower the fuel consumption the better)- range (make sure that the type of aircraft you choose fits most, if not all, your desired destinations)- lease cost (don't invest more than you have)- maintenance (make sure your plane has NO D checks scheduled in the next 2,5 yrs)- cabin crew number + turn around times (although this is generally similar for different planes in the same class)- age of aircraft (the younger the better, generally, but also look at flight time and landings, not only at basic age!)- condition of the aircraft (i wouldn't go for anything that is below 75%, even at the beginning)

make sure you choose a type of aircraft that is still in production or a type that is frequently offered under the used aircraft section. If you choose a type of which 2 are offered, then when you will want to expand later on, where will you get the same type of aircraft?? If you will not be able to get the same type you will have to settle for a different type. Although this is not a drama, it's better to avoid it, at least at the start up phase.

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Jps

Definately get another 737! This is because of Fleet commonality, which means, that the fewer aircraft types you have the smaller the maintaining costs. And, if you have 4 aircraft, all different types, it will be some 3-4 times more expencive to maintain them than 4 airplanes of the same type.Also, in general, despite the smaller costs of small aircraft, the bigger aircraft will propably bring in more profits, because they not only take on more passengers, but also fly longer (so ticket prices are higher) and faster (you can make 2 legs with a jet, when you could do only one with a turboprop/day). So, get another 737 and put it on a long route, that, for example, departs at 22:00 and arrives at the destination at 07:00. Then, if you head back at 08:00, you'll be at your hub again at 17:00. Then, depart for a shorter leg at 18:00, which arrives back at your hub at 21:00, and you'll be able to fly the longer route again. In my example, the longer route would take 9 hours, and the shorter 1 hour/leg, but the 737 may not be able to fly that long, so just make it fly as far as it can and you can find a suitable route...

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Kastor

Fleet commonality doesn't work in the game at all. I had 2 aircraft and I had service cost for a/c and engines about 90.000. I have 4 aircraft ALL THE SAME TYPE WITH THE SAME ENGINES and i have that cost double, so if the cost is linear, where is the fleet commonality? What for to buy all the same aircraft if the cost is not reduced when taking next aircraft

« Last Edit: January 14, 2009, 01:31:09 PM by Kastor »

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Jps

Well, you can always try to get a different type. Then you'll see, whether it makes a difference. But, like I said, with multiple types, the costs are exponential compared to the costs with just single type. So it could be, that the cost is same if you have all same type, but increase greatly when you get another type of airplane.

Fleet commonality doesn't work in the game at all. I had 2 aircraft and I had service cost for a/c and engines about 90.000. I have 4 aircraft ALL THE SAME TYPE WITH THE SAME ENGINES and i have that cost double, so if the cost is linear, where is the fleet commonality? What for to buy all the same aircraft if the cost is not reduced when taking next aircraft

That is not true....

First of all when you have only 1-5 aircraft the costs are decreased on purpose to allow easier start up. And each aircraft group has a fixed base cost and then a sum per each aircraft you have in the group. Generally the base cost is rather high, depending on the type. So again it is not favorable to operate 3 types of planes if you have like 6 aircraft fleet.

Kastor

So please explain, Sami, where is that fixed base cost if I have 180.000 cost for maintainance of 4 aircraft, and for two aircraft I had 90.000 about. I don't see the base cost here, they are fully linear.EXACTLY the same problem with GENERAL marketing that in fact is fully depandant on the routes or aircraft number, but this is different story in different thread.

Kastor

Yes that foolled me because I am used to situation, where fixed cost for something doesn't change until you reach some level, i.e. if you have one aircraft or five it is fixed, and then rise slowly. Here it works exactly oposite way, I mean, if I correctly understood you, if I have four aicraft of a type, I will not fill reduced cost at all ?

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Talentz

Well to add the "fleet commonality" cost and questions, here is what we have learned in beta:

1.) Any aircraft type under 10 aircraft will have higher per plane costs then having 11 aircraft of the same type. So yes, 9 737 will be more expensive then having 11 737s. The goal is to "rapid expand" out of the lower fleet commonality bracket to get cheaper rates.

2.) Once you reach 30+ aircraft of a given type, you are in the "lowest" bracket for fleet commonality rates. Meaning, after 30 aircraft, you get a tax break of some sort.

3.) You can have up to 6 fleet types (30 aircraft each at least) and play less "per plane" avg then having 3 fleet types with less then 30 aircraft in each.